pension transfers

Pensions minister Steve Webb has confirmed the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will this autumn propose reforms to the system of transferring small pension pots.

Practicing financial advisers will not have to sit further examinations if the FSA increases the qualification standards for pension transfers.

The FSA noted a jump in advised sales of personal pensions in 2010/11 compared with the previous year, and said this could reflect pension switching, a practice it pointed out some firms had failed to carry out appropriately in the past.

National IFA Positive Solutions has overhauled its pension switching guidelines for its 1,300 partner advisers following FSA guidance and recent regulatory action against at least 22 firms.

The FSA has rejected the approval of a financial adviser after a previous employer highlighted "serious inadequacies" in his pension transfer work.

Philip Steel, business development consultant at The Annuity Bureau, looks at how advisers can transfer their clients' pensions more effectively.

The FSA has today issued its second fine in as many weeks over concerns on pension switching advice, but it is interesting to note case checking has been of particular interest to the regulator.

Advisers should not get defensive when asked for additional information by SIPP providers, the FSA says.

Transact is lobbying the FSA "quietly behind the scenes" in a bid to reduce pension transfer delays, an issue it labels as more important to IFAs than re-registration.

Incentives being offered by employers to move people out of defined benefit schemes could affect their future means-tested benefits.